The 1992 international agreement known as Agenda 21 represents a paradigm shiftudaway from sectoral management towards more comprehensive managementudapproaches. A key tenet of Agenda 21 is the need for 'integrated management andudsustainable development of coastal and marine areas, including exclusive economicudzones' (Agenda 21, Programme Area A). Despite calls for integrated management at alludlevels of government, however, sectoral management prevails due to such factors asudentrenched mind-sets, administrative fragmentation and political expediency. Thisudthesis investigates the argument that sectoral management is unable to deal withudcomplex, cross-linked issues and that integrated management is an appropriate,udalternative method for approaching environmental management, particularly within theudExclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).udComparative analysis is used to assess 17 case studies of integrated marine managementudwithin Australia, Canada and the United States of America. Comparison is structuredudon a series of ten common criteria distilled from the literature, and which in their entiretyudcomprise a generic process of integrated management. Given these criteria, case studiesudare examined to determine whether management objectives and outcomes are reallyudintegrated, and whether the lessons of practice transcend the limitations of their uniqueud(federal) contexts.udAnalysis demonstrates that despite structural differences, the concept of integratedudmanagement advocated by the three nations is very similar. Furthermore, aspects ofudintegrated management have been pursued with some success, indicating that theudprocess has the capacity to address cross-linked issues. However implementation ofudintegrated marine management remains a significant hurdle and there are few marineudmanagement programs which can claim to be fully integrated in practice. Futureudapplication of integrated management within the federal EEZ requires policy andudmanagement to be approached from the perspective of issue aspects rather than isolatedudactivities. It also requires: a consistent set of policy principles on which to baseudmanagement; adequate and assured resources; a 'level playing field' for theudreconciliation of sectoral interests; a 'two track' (top-down and bottom-up) approach toudmanagement; strategic planning; mechanisms for coordination and harmonisation; andudexplicit processes to allow for institutional learning.udThe thesis concludes that marine conservation may no longer be treated as a separateudconcern within itself but must be incorporated within comprehensive policy andudmanagement arrangements. Integrated marine management is one means for balancingudenvironmental and development interests and presents a potentially feasible managementudoption for resolving complex issues in the EEZ.
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